This Day In History

Friday

Hubble Telescope Repair ( 1993 ) A historic mission to repair the Hubble Telescope has ended and is considered a complete success with Hubble back in action . The repair involved of a number of space walks with the longest made by Story Musgrave and Jeff Hofman spending seven hours and 21 minutes on their final task to unravel the 40 ft solar panels which power Hubble.

Sunningdale Agreement9th December ( 1973 ) Tripartite talks on Northern Ireland have end with the signing of the Sunningdale Agreement the historic agreement to set up a Council of Ireland. After less than 12 months following strikes and paramilitary involvement the Council of Ireland collapsed and direct rule was imposed.

Studebaker9th December ( 1963 ) : The last American made Studebaker is produced, and the factory in South Bend, Indiana, is closed

Thursday

John Lennon Shot ( 1980 ) Former Beatle John Lennon was shot dead by an unknown gunman who opened fire outside the musician's New York apartment. The gunman is later identified as Mark David Chapman

NAFTA8th December ( 1993 ) : The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) ( United States, Canada, and Mexico ) is signed into law by US President Bill Clinton. In terms of gross domestic product (GDP) it is the largest trading bloc and trade agreement in the world

Operation Restore Hope8th December ( 1992 ) The United Nations intervention in Somalia OPERATION RESTORE HOPE a UN sanctioned US military operation begins. The operation was planned to avert the growing humanitarian disaster of severe famine and general chaos.

US Enters World War II8th December ( 1941 ) : Following the unprovoked Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor yesterday the United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Japan

Wednesday

Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor ( 1941 ) Japan launches a surprise dawn attack using midget submarines, 350 bombers and torpedo carrying planes targeting warships, aircraft and military installations on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and has declared war on Britain and the United States. The attack destroyed two battleships, one mine layer, two destroyers with the loss of more than 2,300 US servicemen The US president, Franklin D Roosevelt, has mobilized all forces and is poised to declare war on Japan. The next day when the president addressed Congress and the nation he swore that America would never forget December 7, 1941, as a "date that would live in infamy."

Clement Attlee7th December ( 1955 ) : Clement Attlee resigns as leader of the British labour Party who were beaten in general elections in 1951 by the Conservative party led by Sir Anthony Eden. Clement Attlee and the labour party came to power at the end of World War II in 1945 and implemented many of the recommendations of the report for social reform which became known as the 'cradle to grave' welfare state. The changes included the nationalisation of major industries and public utilities which by 1951 included 20% of the workforce who were then working for the government in Britain. The creation of the National Health Service which provided free healthcare for all. They implemented the National Insurance Act 1946 which deducted a flat rate of national insurance tax. These deductions in turn provided flat-rate pensions, sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, and funeral benefit.

Commuter Train Shooting7th December ( 1993 ) Colin Ferguson opened fire on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train, killing six people and wounding 17, before other passengers stopped him by tackling and holding him down. He was later convicted and sentenced to a minimum of 200 years in prison.

Napster7th December ( 1999 ) : The Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ) files a lawsuit against the new but fast growing Napster file sharing service, on charges of copyright infringement. It was two years in July 2001 before Napster was closed down when they lost their case bought using the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Tuesday

École Polytechnique Shootings ( 1989 ) A gunmen dressed in combat fatigues enters the École Polytechnique a Montreal engineering school Cafeteria where he separates the male and female students and begins shooting the female students, he then went into other classrooms doing similar thing. By the end of his reign of terror he had killed murdered 14 women students and injured a further 12 before killing himself. The gunmen was 25 year-old Marc Lépine, armed with a legally obtained semi-automatic rifle.

Orange County, Calif6th December ( 1994 ) : Orange County, Calif. an affluent California community filed for bankruptcy protection due to investment losses of about $2 billion on its multi-billion-dollar investment fund.

Irish Free State Created6th December ( 1922 ) The Irish Free State is created as a dominion with British sovereign authority under the terms of the Anglo Irish Treaty. Originally the agreement did cover Northern Ireland but Northern Ireland chose the option to opt out of the dominion

Altamont Rolling Stones Concert6th December ( 1969 ) : A free concert organized by the Rolling Stones featuring Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and The Rolling Stones at the disused Altamont Speedway in Livermore, Calif., is marred by the deaths of four people, including a man who was stabbed by a Hell's Angel, The stage, which was only four feet high, was surrounded by the Hells Angels, who acted as security for the concert.

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